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Graduate Applicants

Applications for graduate admission are accepted beginning in early September.

The January 10 graduate application deadline for 2015 enrollment has now passed, with decisions available no later than March 24.

Please contact the Admissions Office for information about selected programs that may consider late applicants.

ELIGIBILITY

Students who will have completed an undergraduate Bachelor’s degree program at an accredited college or university by June 2016 are eligible to apply to the graduate program for admission beginning in the 2016/17 academic year.

International students completing requirements for a diploma rather than a degree must submit a written statement prepared by an appropriate school official verifying that the status of the diploma is equivalent to a US baccalaureate degree.

ITEMS YOU’LL NEED TO SEND

Application Form Submit your RISD application form, and all other credentials, through SlideRoom. The application fee is $60.

If you are not able to use SlideRoom, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@risd.edu or 800 364-7473.

Academic Transcripts Initially, you must provide unofficial transcripts of all undergraduate and/or graduate study indicating satisfactory completion, or evidence of anticipated completion, of an undergraduate degree program from an accredited college or university. If you are attending a school in a non-English-speaking country, your academic credentials must be translated into English by an approved translator. You can upload your unofficial transcripts within your SlideRoom application. Enrolling students will later be required to submit official transcripts.

Special instructions for MAT program applicants The state of Rhode Island requires that any candidate applying to a post-baccalaureate teacher education program in the state has achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 as an undergraduate. Additionally, RISD’s department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design requires that each candidate show evidence of a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 in her/his studio studies. Any candidate who has already completed a Master’s degree must also show evidence of meeting these same cumulative GPA requirements.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | All applicants to the Masters of Landscape Architecture degree programs are required to submit a portfolio and an additional video essay. Your portfolio should contain 10 individually produced and carefully chosen images of work that reflects your interests in landscape and the discipline of landscape architecture. Applicants to the MLA-1 program who have no prior design training may include photographs, sketches, or written work that conveys their ability to observe, identify, and explore spatial conditions within the landscape. All other applicants should include a selection of work that best represents the development of their interest in this field of study. All work should be labeled to indicate if it is academic, professional or personal. If team projects are presented, your individual contribution must be clearly identified. The portfolio should include a minimal amount of text.

Prepare a short video of yourself telling us;

1. The most important reason you are motivated to study landscape architecture

2. At least one goal you hope to achieve in your graduate education

3. Why you think RISD is the best place to achieve your goals.

You are encouraged to be authentic and heartfelt in your response. This essay will function as the beginning of a conversation you will continue to have if you enter the program at RISD and it does not have to be the same information provided in your written essay. Cell phone videos are accepted as well. Maximum length: 2 minutes.

Master of Arts in Teaching | MAT | Your portfolio should consist of 20 images exhibiting the depth and breadth of your studio experience: 10 images should represent work that reflects your investigations within a single medium; 7 images should represent your confidence in handling a variety of media; and three images need to be samples of drawings.

Master of Arts in Art + Design Education | MA | Submit a portfolio of 20 images that most clearly represent your creative practice as an artist or designer.

Statement of Purpose

Graduate applicants must submit a written statement (500–750 words) outlining their interest and goals in pursuing graduate study. Several programs suggest more specific ideas or written requirements as outlined below.

Specific program instructions:

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE | Your essay should describe how your interest in landscape developed, how the work in your portfolio is indicative of that development, and why the landscape architecture program at RISD seems well suited to your goals.

PHOTOGRAPHY | In addition to a statement of purpose, applicants should send an artist’s statement describing the work included in their portfolio. In other words, the artist’s statement should be about the work submitted, while the statement of purpose should address why you are seeking a graduate degree.

Master of Arts in Teaching | MAT | Submit a statement describing your work as an artist or designer. What is it about? How do you feel your academic, studio or work experience prepares you for entry to a graduate teacher education program? Discuss how, in your opinion, the quality of an educator’s artistic practice contributes to high-quality arts learning for children and youth. Since the significance of arts education in K–12 schools is not universally recognized, please provide a succinct argument for including the visual arts as a required core subject for all students at this level.

Master of Arts in Art + Design Education | MA | Submit a written statement (500–750 words) describing your interest in pursuing the MA. Describe how you might customize a program of study that maximizes the resources of RISD, Brown and the city in support of your particular interest in art and design education. In what ways do you, at this time, anticipate that earning an MA will advance your professional development and career aspirations?

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters should be written by teachers or other professionals who have firsthand knowledge of your art or academic achievements and can comment on your potential for graduate study. You may invite your recommenders to upload their letters through SlideRoom. If your recommenders are unable to submit through SlideRoom, their letters may be emailed to admissions@risd.edu or mailed to the Graduate Admissions Office.

Tests

TOEFL or IELTS | All applicants who speak English as a second language, including US citizens, must submit results from either TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Since proficiency in English is a prerequisite for acceptance, applicants must attain an acceptable score on either test; RISD requires a minimum result of 93 on the TOEFL or 6.5 on IELTS. The language test requirement may be waived for applicants who are enrolled in an institution where English is the language of instruction.

Plan to take the TOEFL or IELTS well in advance of the application deadline since it may take six weeks for your scores to be sent to RISD by the test agency.

Graduate Record Exam (GRE) | Results from the Graduate Record Examination are not required, but MA, MAT and MLA candidates are encouraged to submit their scores.

SUBMITTING YOUR MATERIALS

SlideRoom will allow you to submit all of the materials required in the application process:

Application process

RISD’s online graduate application allows you to save the form in process and return to it later. You will also submit other required credentials, including your portfolio and letters of recommendation, in this online process.